Device for teaching swimming



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- J. EMERSON. e

DEVICE IOR'TEACHING SWIMMING.

Patented July "7, 1896.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

. J. EMERSON. DEVICE PoR TIIAGIIING SWIMMING.

Patented July?, 1896.

(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheen a.

, I J. EMERSON.

DEVICE POE TEACHING SWIMMING. No. 563,578. l Patented July 7, 1896; 'Eig 3. I

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' man (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

J. EMERSON. DEVICE EOE TEACHING SWIMMING.

No. 563,578. Patented myV/1896.

lUNiTED .STATES PATENT OFFICE..A

JAMES EMERSON, OF WILLIMANSETT, MASSACHUSETTS.-

DEVICE FOR TEACHINGKSWIMMING".

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettere Patent No. 563,578, dated July v, 1896.

Application filed July 30, 1895.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES EMERSON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Willimansett, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Swimming-A Machines, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for instructing persons in the art of swimming; and it consists in a suitable support or framing to be placed in a swimming tank or pool or in the open Water, having mounted thereon supports for the body and supports for the arms and legs, which arm and leg supports are constrained for movements in courses practically corresponding to those performed by a swimmer, and which arm and leg supports have mechanism for imparting thereto their movements.

The invention further consists in constructions and combinations of parts, all substantially as will hereinafter fully appear, and be set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference marked thereupon, in which* Figure 1 is a plan view of the swimmingmachine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3is a sectional elevation as seen on the transverse line of section 3 3, Fig. 1.- Fig. 4 is aperspective view of parts in detail to be hereinafter referred to. Figs. 5, 6, 7,

and 8 are views in illustration of the mechan-,

ical arm motion.

The machine, as shown, comprises a stand or support to be set into the water in the swimming-tank or elsewhere, and embodies the two legs a a at the front, the cross-bar a2, supported by and between the legs, the central longitudinal barb, jointed to the middle of and extended rearwardly from said crossbar, and the rearend leg c.

The T-shaped frames, which comprise the bars b and a2, have sleeve-couplings at their ends, as seen at o3, which have sliding and adjustable connections vertically with the said legs, being conned by the set-screws a4.

Projecting upwardly from the aforesaid forl v Serial No.4557,571. (No model.)

ward cross-bar et* are the uprights d d, supporting at their tops the transverse bar e, and also serving for the bearings of the crankshaft f, which has thereon the bevel-gear 10, in mesh with Which'is the bevel-gear 1-2, which is on the operating-shaft A, which is extended in an upward and rearward direction, terminating in the crank-handle 13 or other device for turning it. The operating-shaft at its crank end is further supported by the upwardly and laterally extended bar 1-1, which is attached to the aforesaid T-frame a2 b.

B represents the body-support, which is mounted on the longitudinal Y-shaped frame g, which extends in an inclined direction from the rear part of the frame member b to a connection with the aforesaid cross-bar e, and upon the cross-bar e is the breast-support O. The body-support B is adjustable longitudinally toward and away from the breast-support by reason of being detachably confined on the frame g by the bolt-slot and set-screw connection seen at 15 15.

D D are the shoulder-supports, which normally are stationary, although they are adj ustable toward and from each other in order to adapt the machine to persons of different size, and E E are the supports for the forearm or wrist, the same having imparted to them ,peculiar movements to cause the arms of the learner to describe approximately the same movements which are performed in swimming by mechanism which will be now described.

At or near each end of the crank-shaftf are bevel gear-wheels 16 16, which mesh into theV bevel gear-wheels 17 17 on the vertical shafts 18,which proj ect through and above the sleevebearings 19 19 therefor and have secured upon their upper ends the disks h.

Each arm-support E is secured upon or carried by a lever E2, which intermediately, as seen at t, is pivoted to the rotary disk h at an eccentric point thereof and its inner end is pivotally connected to another lever-arm E3, which has its inner end connected by the pivot 20 to the stationary support 2l at or near each shoulder-support.

The arms E2 E3 together make a which has the doubling-up and straightening toggle movement because of the rotary movement of the pivot t', connecting the outer toggle member E2 with the rotary disk, so that in effect the wrist or arm support E and the arm of the learner when constrained to move thereby has first the forward thrust, which at its termination is followed by the lateral and then the rearward stroke, concluding with the recover, these arm movements being so nearly like those performed by an actual swimmer that the beginner who has these movements mechanically imparted to her arms thereby shortly acquires the swimming arm stroke.

I-I and J are the thigh and leg or ankle supports,they being mounted on respective levers H2 and the longitudinally-ranging bars J2. Each of the levers H2 is pivotally connected, as seen at 23, to the body-support or other suitable stationary part of the machine, and to its rear extremity, at 24, is pivoted one of the bars J2, the latter having a sliding support in and through a stationary sleeve 25, which is supported by the rear extremity of the bar l) of the main supporting-frame.

The levers H2 H2 are arranged in downwardly and outwardly divergent planes, as may be perceived on reference to Fig. l, and to a member or intermediate part 26 of each lever H2 there is pivotally secured the rear end of the duplicated connecting-rod 7s, the forward end of each of these rods being secured to the cross-head m, which is on the longitudin ally-rangin g bar n, the forward end thereof being hung upon the crank or wrist pin o, while the rear end of the bar u has a sliding movement longitudinally through the apertured support 28 therefor which depends below the body-support B. Therefore, through the turning of the operating-shaft A, in addition to the arm movements hereinbefore described, the machine is susceptible of imparting the leg thrusts, which are to all intents and purposes the same as those of a swimmer, and which will be understood as consisting of the swinging and longitudinal thrusts and the compounds thereof imparted to the parts H2 J2 and the thigh andankle supports.

The crosshead or connection-piece m is adjustable along the bar n, the latter being screw-threaded, receiving thereupon an internally-threaded sleeve or nut m2, with which the cross-head has such an engagement as to permit the independent rotation of the nut.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a swimming-machine, a body-support, and the arm-supports each consisting of the lever E2, having its one end pivotally supported, and a second lever E2, pivoted to the outer end of the said lever E2, combined with a revoluble part having a connection with the lever E2, at a point outwardly beyond its connection with lever E2, and means for imparting the revoluble movement to said part, substantially as described.

2. In a swimming-machine, a support for the body, and duplicated articulated armsupports each consisting of lever E3, pivoted to a stationary support, ya` second lever E2, having its inner end pivoted to lever E2, a disk having the eccentric and revoluble stud t', in engagement with an intermediate part of the lever E2, shafts on which the said disks are mounted and means for imparting continuous rotary movements to said shafts, substantially as described.

3. In a swimming-machine, the combination with a frame, the shoulderrests D, and the supports on which they are mounted which are adjustable transversely on the frame, bevel gear-wheels journ-aled in said adjustably-movable shoulder-supports, and the disks 7L, connected with the said gearwheels and having the eccentric-studs t', the shaft f, having the gear-wheel 16, adjustable thereon, means for rotating the said shaft, the arm-supports consisting of the levers E2, E2, articulated as described and engaged by said eccentric studs, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a swimming-machine, a body-support, and articulated legrsupports each con sisting of a lever H2, having thigh-rest II, which lever has its one end pivoted to a stationary support, the bar J2, having the anklerest J, which lever has its one end pivoted to the end of lever H2, a support 25, on which the extremity of said bar is constrained for an endwise sliding movement, a crank-shaft and means for rotating it, and connections between the crank and intermediate parts of said levers H2, H2, substantially as described.

5. In a swimming-machine, a support for the body, movable articulated leg-supports consisting of the pivoted levers H2, H2, with the thigh-rests H, H, thereon, the bars J2, J2, with the ankle-rests thereon, which bars are pivotally connected to the said levers, the supports 25, in which the extremities of the bars are sustained and permitted to have endwise-sliding movements, the crank-shaft, the bar n, hung thereon, the cross-head m, and the connecting-rods lo, secured to the cross-head and to intermediate parts of the levers H2, substantially as described.

6. In a swimming-machine, the combination with a frame and a bodysupport B, longitudinally adjustable thereon, and having the leg-supports consisting of the levers H2, H2, and bars J2, J2, pivoted and supported as described, the crank-shaft, the screw-threaded bar n, hung on the crank, the cross-head longitudinally adjustable on the said bar, and having secured thereto the connectingrods which are also connected to the said levers, substantially as described.

7. In a swimmingmachinc,in combination,

IOO

a frame, a stationary breast-support, a bodysupport adjustable longitudinally on the frame toward and away from the breast-supable body-support, and mechanism for imparting the swimming-stroke movements to Io the arm and leg supports, substantially as port, shoulder-rests adjustable transversely described. relative to the breast-support and articulated arm-supports pivotally secured tothe shoulder-rests, the articulated legsupports pivotally secured to the longitudinally-adjust- JAMES EMERSON. Witnesses: WM. S. BELLoWs,

K. I. CLEMoNs. 

